


Like Blood, Like Honey

by LarirenShadow



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fae & Fairies, Fairy Tale Retellings, Humor, Reylo Fanfiction Anthology, This is YA trash, tithe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-20
Updated: 2016-10-27
Packaged: 2018-08-16 03:38:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 20,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8085391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LarirenShadow/pseuds/LarirenShadow
Summary: “Sweet Rey,” Kylo said as he gently grabbed her chin.  “We’re all monsters in the Unseelie Court.”When Rey moves in with her grandfather the summer before college she expected a part time job at best.  Instead she found herself mixed up in the world of faeries.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off the book Tithe by Holly Black and written for the Reylo Fanfiction Anthology. Thank you to all my fellow mods who helped put this together and for reading this!
> 
> There is one scene I wish I could take credit for but is honestly from the book. I should update about twice a week since the fic is done. There's 10 chapters plus a prologue and epilogue.

“Come on, there has to be another flight!” Rey begged. The woman working the airline desk didn’t even look up as she kept typing away. “Please tell me there’s another flight today.”

“Miss, I’m checking,” the woman reassured her in the most bored sounding voice Rey could imagine. 

Rey bit her lip. She was getting slightly desperate and, well, desperate times called for desperate measures. “You will put me on the next flight to Ithaca,” she said firmly.

She watched the woman’s eyes gloss over. Her fingers flew across the keyboard. “You’re on the five thirty flight, Miss Niima,” the woman said in a slightly distant voice.

“And you’ll give me food vouchers,” she said confidently. 

“Here’s fifty dollars in vouchers.” Rey’s eyes went wide; she’d meant for it to be a little less than that but she wasn’t going to argue.

“Thanks,” she said taking her new ticket and vouchers. 

She quickly found a seat away from the desk, facing the window. She pulled out her phone and called the most recent number. She waited two rings and almost hoped she could just leave a message until he picked up. “Hi,” she said nervously, “it’s Rey.”

“Rey?” he asked.

She put her head in her hand. “Your granddaughter.”

“Of course, I just was wondering how you were calling from the air.”

“I missed that flight,” she clarified. “My flight from Albuquerque was delayed. I thought I could still make it but we taxied for twenty minutes. I have a flight tonight.” She gave him the information and waited for him to confirm it back. “I’m sorry you have to pick me up later.”

“It’s no problem at all, I’m glad you’re coming.” Rey bit her lip at the hopeful sound of his voice. She hadn’t even know her grandfather existed until two years ago when her caseworker mentioned him. Now she was going to live with Ben Kenobi for the summer before she started college at the insistence of her foster mother, Maz. 

“Me too. See you tonight.” She let her phone drop into her lap after she pressed the end button.

She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, just wanting the day to be over. The next time she had to fly across most of the country she’d opt not to take an early morning flight. She felt her seat shift slightly to the left as someone sat next to her.

“Hi,” a deep voice said. Rey pried her eyes open to glare at whoever was talking to her. The voice belonged to a smiling man about her age with dark skin and eyes that she would describe as kind. 

“Yes?” she asked, trying very hard to keep the irritation out of her voice.

“You got a food voucher,” he said.

She tried very hard not to look surprised. “I did,” she said cautiously.

“How did you manage that? I argued with that woman for like twenty minutes trying to get one because this is the third flight I’ve been put on.” Rey hesitated, she hated when people noticed what she could do.

“It’s just,” she shrugged, “it’s just a thing that sometimes happens to me.”

“Well, that was one of the best things I’ve seen all day. I’m Finn, by the way.” He held out his hand. 

She took his hand cautiously and said “I’m Rey.” She looked down at the vouchers in her lap. “Look, she gave me fifty dollars for food, and I don’t think I’ll need that much, so do you want one?”

“Uh, sure.” He took the voucher she offered. “Look, why don’t we get food together.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s about noon and the flight is at 5:30, so that’s about another five hours at least until we have to board, and conversation makes time pass.”

“So does Netflix,” she countered.

“The wifi is crap and keeps dropping.”

She sighed. “Fine, but I get to pick the food.”

~*~*~

“So really, how did you do that?” Finn asked as he dipped a fry in ketchup. They were sitting in the back of the train that ran the length of Terminal A, having staked out the space as their own after returning to the waiting area for their flight and finding it full.

“Do what?” Rey asked before taking another bit of her hamburger. She’d dragged him to Fuddruckers for food and considered it one of the best decisions she made all day. 

“Make the woman give you exactly what you wanted.”

Rey almost choked on her food. “I don’t--”

“I heard you. Look, I just think it’s cool and want to know if you can teach me how to do it.”

Rey shook her head. “It’s something I’ve been able to do all my life. I can’t really explain it but if I really want to I can make people do what I want. I don’t do it often,” she said defensively.

“Honestly, if I could do that I’d use it on professors to get them to give us take home exams.”

“You’re in college?” Rey asked before taking a sip of her milkshake.

Finn nodded. “Yeah, heading back for the summer semester after a short visit to my parents. Why are you going to Ithaca?”

“I’m moving there.”

“For school? Say Cornell, I can show you around.”

“Yes and no, just with moving in with my grandfather right now,” she shrugged, “but I am starting at Cornell in the fall.”

“Why did you move so early?”

“I needed a new start I guess, there wasn’t really anything for me in New Mexico.”

“Well, I’ll help you with your new start. First the friendship of an amazing person which we’ve got covered,” she grinned, “and next a job! Trust me, I know the best places to work.”

“Sounds like a plan. And stop stealing my onion rings!”


	2. Chapter 1

Rey fell back onto the driver seat of her grandfather’s car and sighed heavily. She’d put in her tenth application and received her tenth ‘we’ll call you’ conversation. She’d spent her first week in upstate New York settling in and getting to know her grandfather. There had been some awkward moments over the breakfast table as well as discussions about life in general.

She’d learned about how her mother and grandfather had a falling out when her mother had turned eighteen. She’d moved to America and hadn’t contacted him since. Once he got a job teaching philosophy at Cornell, he’d tried to find her but had no luck. When Rey had contacted him, he hadn’t even known his own daughter was dead. At least now Rey got to know a little about her mother. 

They’d also discussed Rey’s living arrangements come September. Not that she had really put much thought into it beyond “probably on campus.” She hadn’t even really planned on applying to an Ivy League school. Her guidance counselor said she could get in and even offered to pay the application fee. Rey had felt like it was the right decision at the time and gone with it. She was much more interested in the engineering part than what kind of school she was applying to. Now that it was a few months away she hoped she’d made the right choice.

“First, job. Then I can start worrying about housing,” she muttered what had become her personal mantra for the past few days. There was only so much rejection Rey could take. Her next stop was the coffee shop where Finn worked. It was probably her best bet even if she couldn’t tell a cappuccino from a latte.

The drive over was short. After shutting the car door, she smoothed down her nice cream colored blouse and hoped her jeans looked professional enough. She plastered her best _‘I’m friendly please give me a job’_ smile on her face before opening the door to the shop. It was an odd mix of bright cheery shop with local art on the walls and something slightly edgier that was highlighted in the very functional chalkboard menu and black chairs around the tiny tables. Finn waved at her from behind the counter before turning and talking to a tall woman with bright blonde hair. If Rey had to guess, she would say that was the manager he’d told her about on the plane (after they’d managed to rearrange seats so they could sit together). Finn called her a hardass but she knew what she was doing and how to set the place apart from Starbucks.

At the counter Rey smiled just a tad bigger and pulled her resume out of her bag. “Hi, Finn said I should give this to you.”

The woman looked her up and down before taking the paper. She scanned it quickly. “You have experience at an ice cream parlor?”

Rey nodded. “Yup, and I have my food safety certificate from New Mexico if that helps.”

“But no barista experience.” Rey’s smile faltered as she shook her head. “What’s your coffee order?”

Rey bit her lip. “Black tea,” she finally said.

“Do you even like coffee?”

Rey wrinkled her nose. “Not really.”

The woman stood a little straighter. “Look, I’m going to be honest with you because you’re Finn’s friend. You managed to be a shift lead while in high school and that’s impressive and I think that makes you a hard worker. But I’m looking for someone I don’t have to spend hours training.”

“Phasma,” Finn interjected and she held up her hand.

“If I end up getting enough staff with experience I might consider hiring you on for all the training. As it stands I am short staffed and adding training shifts with drinks isn’t something I need, even in the summer.”

“I could just do the register then,” Rey argued.

“I need someone who can do everything.”

“I understand,” Rey said, defeated. “Thank you for your time.”

Phasma raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you at least going to get something?”

Rey scanned the menu board. “Iced black tea with lemonade.”

Finn moved to ring her up but Phasma swatted him away. “It’s time for your break. Grab a cookie for you two as well. That will be two dollars.”

Rey paid and went to go sit at the table closest to the door. Finn brought over her drink as well as a glass of water for him and one of the largest chocolate chip cookies she’d ever seen.

“You got Phasma on a good day,” he said as he sat down.

“Really?” She took a piece of cookie and popped it into her mouth. It was chewy and not too sweet. “This is amazing.”

“She came up with the recipe and yeah. Usually she just beats down applicants if they don’t have barista experience and has a general level of intolerance for almost everyone.”

“How’d you get the job then?”

“Starbucks in high school. I really did try to talk her into hiring you.”

“It’s fine,” Rey said as she stirred her drink with a straw. “I’m getting pretty used to the ‘thanks but no thanks’ speech.”

“Can’t be that bad.”

“Let’s see, I was told I was overqualified at Baskin Robbins, told they’d already done hiring at both Walgreens and Barnes and Noble, the movie theater didn’t say anything but took my application, which was pretty much what the other four restaurants I applied to did as well. Apparently summer jobs are mostly taken unless I want to learn how to lifeguard.”

“Library?” Finn suggested.

“Volunteers only.”

“I’m sure you’ll find something.”

Rey waved her hand. “Yes, I haven’t tried the gas stations or fast food chains yet.”

“Cheer up, at least you got a free cookie and great company out of this failed interview,” Finn teased.

“It’s certainly the best. Anyway, I should get back home. Grandfather wants to have dinner with me, something about making sure we do that once a week.”

“What have you been doing before?”

Rey shrugged. “I usually make something myself and just go to my room.”

“Sounds like you have an amazing social life,” he teased.

“I see you all the time!”

“True, and you will have one come September. It’s just the wait now.”

“Job first, social life second,” she said. “I may be getting a deal on tuition but books still cost a shit ton of money.”

“Amazon,” he said. “I have to get back, see you tomorrow?”

She nodded and grabbed the last of the cookie out from under his hand. “Mine.”

Rey dusted the crumbs off her hands as she exited the shop. Tomorrow she’d try again to find a job but after that, well, she might take a day or so off. Maybe Finn would be off and they could go hiking around the lake. Though maybe not; the heat she could handle but the humidity was getting to her every time she walked outside.

“Hey kid!” She heard a gruff voice call as she unlocked her car. She turned to see a tall man with grey hair wearing a leather jacket that he must be overheating in. 

“Yeah?” She hoped he wasn’t going to try to proselytize.

“Can I use your car for a jump?”

She nodded. “Yeah, let me move closer.” 

Once her car was parked next to his old Ford Falcon, she popped the hood to connect the cables. “Do you need help?” she asked as she watched the man rummage through his trunk.

“No, what I need is to find the damn cables,” he said without looking up. “If Chewie didn’t put them back…”

“Chewie?”

“My old assistant. He moved back to Vermont with his family recently and I told him not to take all the tools but he might have anyway.” He looked up. “Do you have jumper cables?”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’ll check.” She opened her trunk and quickly found them, silently thanking her grandfather for having them. “Got ‘em!”

“Great, hand them over and I’ll tell you when to turn on your car.” He held out his hand and she moved the cables back. “Kid, you said you’d help.”

“What kind of assistant was Chewie?” she asked. She had a feeling she might want to know this.

“In my garage,” the man said.

She smirked. “If I can jump your car, you’ll give me a job.” She wasn’t using her persuasion for this but she might if all else failed.

He stood up straight. “Fine, if you can do it you have the job.”

“Excellent.” She went about attaching the cables to each car, double checking her work before starting her car. She ignored the burning on her hands; she’d need to remember her gloves when she started. “Your turn!”

His engine roared to life. “I’m impressed,” he said as he stepped out of his car. “Where did you learn to do that?”

“I took autoshop all four years of high school,” Rey said with pride.

“You got a name kid?”

“Rey Niima,” she said.

“Well, Rey Niima, you have a job a Solo’s Garage. It’s on West State Street, can’t miss it. You start tomorrow. Don’t think you won’t get dirty and it doesn’t pay much. I’m Han, by the way.”

She grinned. “I’ll be there bright and early.”

“If you’re going to be there that early bring coffee, the coffeemaker makes crap.”

~*~*~

“I got a job today,” Rey told her grandfather as she helped herself to a piece of chicken. “At Solo’s Garage.”

Ben Kenobi stroked his beard. “You met Han?” She nodded. “I knew him a while back, good man. When do you start?”

“Tomorrow, and I can’t wait.”

“Be sure you get all your paperwork done first.”

Rey tried not to roll her eyes. “Of course. Maybe I can even keep this as a part-time gig when in school.”

“If you like it that much.” Rey was sure she would, she liked fixing things and finding solutions. It was one of the reasons she applied for the engineering program in the first place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's chapter 1! Thank you for all the kudos and comments! They make my day!


	3. Chapter 2

The majority of Rey’s first morning of work was spent filling out paperwork and manning the front desk. It was irksome in spite of the fact that she knew part of the reason it irritated her was because she was new and there wasn’t much work to be done at the moment. On top of that, the front desk had little in the way of organization beyond multiple undefined piles of paper. She planned on confronting Han during lunch about sitting at the desk all day. She’d texted Finn for his opinion; he told her to go for it and offered to bring her lunch. The whole ‘only having one car between her and her grandfather’ situation was getting slightly worse now that she had a job. She missed having the independence of her own car, but there was no way the pile of rust she loved would have made it all the way to New York. Maz told her she was using the car, so at least she knew it wasn’t a waste.

At noon on the dot the door chime sounded as Finn entered. He had a cup carrier in one hand and a white paper bag in the other. “I brought coffee and sandwiches,” he said. “Even one for the new boss.”

“You’re amazing,” Rey hopped up from the desk to take the drinks. She took her iced coffee (one of the few coffee drinks she liked), leaving the two hot ones for the boys. 

The door chimed again as Han walked in. “Kid I was going to go get--oh, you already have food.”

Rey nodded. “There’s coffee and a sandwich for you too.”

“I thought I was supposed to treat you to lunch on your first day,” he said before pulling up a chair to sit on the opposite side of the desk. Finn did the same. “Is this your boyfriend?”

Rey shook her head, mouth full of food. “Just a friend,” she said as she swallowed. 

Finn nodded as well. “Met at the airport,” he clarified, “I started showing her around and will be her guide through her first year of college,” he added proudly.

“I don’t think you should listen to him,” Han stage whispered to Rey.

“Too late,” she said. “Besides he’s nice.”

“Sure. Say, you need any work done on your car?”

Finn nodded. “I probably do and I assume I’ll get the friends and family discount?” he asked with a huge grin.

Rey laughed as Han said “Don’t hold your breath.”

“He told me this morning I could get a discount in that I’ll only have to pay to use the shop, the labor will be free because I’ll be fixing my own damn car. Though I’m sure I could work out the same deal for you. Especially if you provide caffeine for the work as well.”

“At least wait until I’ve supervised you in the shop before going and offering to fix other people’s things,” Han chided. “Come on, you’re finished. Let’s see if you can do more than just jump a car.”

“I’ll call you later, ok?” Rey said as she crumpled up the wrapping from her sandwich. 

“Yeah, good luck!” Finn waved. Rey caught the coverall Han threw at her. She grabbed her gloves off the desk where she’d left them before following Han into the garage.

“You can take that car, it needs a tune up, oil change, and brake replacement,” Han said as he pointed to a blue Mazda. “I’ll be over here if you need anything.”

Rey nodded and got to work on the car. She drained the oil first, knowing it would be the easy part. She worked as quickly as possible, happy to have her gloves, though her nose was starting to burn from the fumes. She’d been able to stand it for a fifty minute period when in school, but her supposed metal allergy was acting up after awhile. Yet, she liked what she was doing and could power through. Maybe she’d stop by Walgreens on her walk home to get some allergy medicine.

“You doing alright?” Han called, his head buried in his own engine.

“Yeah, you?” she called back. He came over to check on her work, scrubbing his hands. “No need to see how I’m doing.”

“Your cheeks are red,” he replied.

“Just something that happens when I work with metals. Why I always wear gloves,” she said. “Are you going to watch me the whole time?”

He took a step back and held up his hands. “Keep going and I’ll check when you’re done.”

Rey worked for another hour, constantly rubbing her nose whenever she could. The fumes were beginning to burn her lungs, but she needed the job and could power through. The break replacement came last, with Rey cursing as she pulled out the almost non-existent former brake pads to put in the new ones. She cleaned up her work space once she was done and went over to Han. “Anything else I should do?”

“Check what appointments we have tomorrow and then you’re good to go. If you want, I can give you a ride home,” he offered.

“I think I’ll walk,” Rey said before hanging up her coveralls. She checked the calendar in the shop and noted the four cars scheduled for the next day. She split them evenly between Han and her and hoped he’d approve of the assignments.

She grabbed her things and walked by the outside of the garage on her way out. “I’m heading out, schedule’s on the desk,” she called.

“Be careful!” Han called.

“I walked here on my own and I can walk back on my own,” she muttered before waving. 

Her path home took her out of town and to the tree-lined paths outside the main part of the city. It was a far walk, but when she left the garage it was sunny. Unfortunately for her, the clouds came when she was about halfway home. 

Of course, it started raining. Summer rain wasn’t anything new to Rey; she’d lived through many a monsoon season. Here, however, rain appeared to be unpredictable. Her beige overshirt was soaked and she was beginning to feel the water soak her black undershirt. Her jeans were already caked to her body and her sneakers squished as she walked.

“I knew this day was going too well,” she said, kicking stones as she walked on the side of the road. Cars passed her every few minutes but no one bothered to stop. She thought about calling her grandfather or even Finn, but she didn’t want to admit she needed help. She glanced down before kicking the next rock and saw what looked like an arrow. She picked it up and twirled it around with her fingers. “Odd.” Especially considering the shaft as wood rather than the usual carbon fiber she’d seen in sports stores.

Rey heard a groan over the sound of the falling rain. She gripped the arrow tightly as she said “Who’s there?” No one answered her. She twirled her arrow again, debating if she should investigate. “Screw it,” she said as she went into the woods to follow the sound. The trees weren’t that dense and rain slipped through the foliage. It was darker than on the road but she could see see in front of her. As she traipsed through the undergrowth, she noticed what appeared to be a fresh path.

She lost her footing and slipped down a small ridge with a shriek. She landed on her bottom, arrow sticking up in her hand. She breathed a sigh of relief that the arrow hadn’t impaled her.

“Would you care to finish me off?” a voice drawled. Rey jumped up and looked around at the sound. Her eyes landed on a prone man a few feet away. He was dressed in black and his skin was so pale it almost glowed. His pale hand gripped the hilt of a sword. There were leaves in his shoulder-length dark hair.

“What?” she asked dumbly. She tried not to think abou the sword.

“You have an arrow that you could easily stab through my heart, but I could probably get a good hit on you before you finish me,” he said calmly before his face contorted in pain. “Though you might want to hurry, if you’re going to be the one to kill me.”

“Aren’t you just a ball of sunshine? I don’t want to kill you but I’ll help you,” she said as she knelt down next to him. “Tell me where you’re hurt.”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re wearing black and unfortunately blood doesn’t show up well on black.”

“There’s blood on the leaves.”

She sat back on her heels. “You know, if you don’t want to help me, then I could just leave you here to die.” He looked at her but kept silent. She checked the leaves on his left side where she was kneeling then leaned over to check his right. Her hand came down just above his hip and he hissed. Her hand came back warm and wet. “Found it. Now I can help you or you can wait for someone to actually come to kill you. It’s your choice.”

He stared at her but didn’t answer. She pressed into his wound again and he hissed. “Fine, I will accept your help.” His fingers slowly released their grip on his weapon.

“I figured you would.” She took off her over shirt and used the arrow to pierce the bottom so she could rip it.

“Is that even clean?” he asked.

“It’s raining and it’s wet so it’s pretty clean,” she responded. “I just hope I can get a bandage long enough to go around you.”

“You don’t even know how bad the wound is.”

“Are you going to tell me?” Silence. “Fine, I’ll find out myself.” She pulled his shirt out of his pants and pushed the fabric up his chest. She took a second to marvel at his pale eight pack before checking the wound. It looked like he’d been shot in the side but by what she wasn’t sure. “I should clean it, I think.”

“With what?” he asked. 

In response she ripped one of the sleeves and wiped the wound. The skin around it was an angry red. “You could do that a little gentler.”

“I’m not entirely sure what I’m doing, so you’re getting my best.” She finished and began making strips again. “What happened anyway?”

“I got on the wrong side of an arrow,” he said.

“Like this one?” she asked, holding up the one she found.

“Exactly. Are you sure you didn’t shoot me?”

“Do I look like I have a bow? Besides, why would I offer to help you if I did this?”

“There are those I know who would do that.”

“You need better friends.”

“I never said they were friends.”

“Let me help you up so I can start wrapping.”

“You should put something over the wound.” She glared but took the other sleeve off the shirt and folded it into a square to put over the wound. She helped him sit up, the man biting his lip the entire time. She managed to put his head on her shoulder so she could wrap the bandage around his middle. His breath tickled her neck and she tried to ignore that he didn’t smell too bad. She managed to wrap the wound a few times and tucked the ends of her makeshift bandage into the folds.

“There,” she said, “that should do it until I can get an ambulance here.” Rey took out her cell phone and began to dial before he knocked the phone out of her hand. “What was that for?”

“No ambulance,” he said.

“Do you not have health insurance or something? ‘Cause I can call my friend and he can pick us up--”

“No more humans.”

She thought that was an odd thing to say but let it go. “Fine, but at least let me help you back into town.”

He shook his head. “I can get home on my own.” He tried to stand up at that and almost fell over. She managed to catch him but nearly lost her own footing in the process. 

“Now are you going to admit you need help?”

He huffed. “Fine, escort me to the road and I will pay you for your services.”

“I don’t need--”

“Never refuse a gift, it can always be more powerful than you know,” he said. He slung his arm around her shoulders. “Help me.”

“A please wouldn’t hurt,” she muttered as she wrapped her arm around his waist. She helped him up the slight hill and to the road, only slipping once. She helped him stand on his own as the rain came down harder. “You sure you don’t want me to call someone?” She noticed the blood already darkening the bandages before he pulled his shirt down.

“No, and for your trouble you can ask me three questions that I will have to answer,” he said softly.

“What’s your name?” she asked.

He glared at her. “Ben Solo, and you are too smart for your own good.” He took off the cloak draped around his neck and wrapped her in it. “Take care.”

“Wait!” She called at his retreating back. “Where--”

“Don’t waste your last two questions,” he called back. “You’ll never know when you’ll need them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally Kylo Ren/Ben Solo shows up!


	4. Chapter 3

“It’s weird, right?” Rey asked as she sipped her coffee the following morning. She promised to meet Finn before work for coffee. She was beginning to get addicted to the stuff and it wasn’t a good addiction for her bank account.

“A guy just leaving you on the side of the road? Yeah, I would say it is, but he didn’t want help and you’re lucky to get out of it alive,” Finn replied. “The rest of it is what’s weird.”

“Like?” she prompted.

“The fact that you found a wooden arrow by the side of the road and that this guy appeared to just be lying there injured. You’d think he’d have called someone. For all you know, he did it himself.”

Rey bit her lip. “I don’t think it was that bad,” she said. “He seemed to be waiting for someone or something. I think, if no one had come, he’d have figured it out.”

“Which is still weird. Plus he had a sword?”

Rey shrugged. “Maybe it was a LARPing accident and he was waiting for his friends.”

“Now you’re bordering on not possible. Next you’re going to tell me he’s like a faery,” Finn joked.

“What?”

Finn rolled his eyes. “Come on, like in stories? You know, a girl finds a faery in the woods type thing?”

“Right,” Rey drew out the word. She threw her straw wrapper at him. “That’s entirely what happened. Soon I’ll be put under some curse and need my true love to break it.”

“I can’t help you there.”

Rey stood up. “I should get going, text me later?”

“Will do.” Rey turned to leave. “And don’t eat any suspicious fruits!”

“I’m hardly a damsel in distress,” Rey called over her shoulder.

Rey spent part of her morning going over the appointments for the rest of the week in the office before the shipment of new parts arrived. She helped sort them and made sure to label which were extra and which belonged to certain customers coming in. It was dull work, but at least it helped her familiarize herself with the garage and rearrange Han’s inventory (as in actually fix it and make sure it had some semblance of order).

“Bring the cordless phone into the garage,” Han said as they cleaned up their lunches. “I’m going to watch you change some brakes and then maybe let you loose.”

Rey grinned. “I bet I can do it faster than you can.”

“Don’t even try to make that bet, kid. I’ll win. Come on.” Han stood and gestured for her to follow. Rey checked the pockets of her overalls for her gloves. They weren’t there.

“Just a minute, I need to find my gloves,” she said. She looked under the rickety lunch table and then to the trash can.

“If they’re not on the front desk, just leave it be,” Han called.

“Easy for you to say,” Rey muttered as she moved to the desk and began to move her carefully made piles. She was wrecking her own system but she needed the gloves more than organization. After overturning the entire thing and checking the bag she brought, she gave up. “If they’re in the car or at the coffee shop, I will find some way to bring them to life and murder them.” She stood, hands on her hips as she glared down at the desk. “Han, do you have extra gloves?” she yelled.

“None that will fit you! Just use your hands and I’ll get you some later,” Han replied.

Rey considered offering to stay at the desk instead but she wanted to prove herself. The redness would go away in a day or two anyway. In the garage, she went to the only car that was raised up. She took the power wrench and began loosening the lug nuts on the tire. Replacing the brakes was easy. As soon as the tire was off she went to work on getting the brake pads out. After removing the first, Rey noted that there wasn’t much of the original pad left. It didn’t take her long to replace the other three pads, but she could feel the heat of her hands as she worked and the usual burn in her throat. Han routinely looked over her shoulder to see how she did, but he made no comment. She took that as a good sign.

As soon as the last bolt was in place he said “Good job kid.” Rey grinned before coughing. “You okay?”

Rey nodded. “Fine, just happens sometimes,” she said. Han grabbed her dirty hand and turned it over. While the palm was obscured by black brake dust, the back of her hand was relatively clean and red. She jerked her hand away.

“Allergic to metal?” Han asked.

“I thought that too, but it’s not really an allergy,” Rey explained. “My body just doesn’t like it but it’s not hives and allergy medicine doesn’t work. It just burns.” She shrugged. “Gloves help a lot.”

“I’ll get you some. Come on, let’s check over this one, I told the owner I’d have it ready tonight and I don’t think that will be possible.”

“Is the owner expecting to pick it up?”

Han shrugged. “Yeah, but I’d rather have him think that it’s going to ready.”

Rey bit her tongue; it wasn’t the best option but it could work. They set to work checking over the engine and running tests. It turned out that they needed a part that wasn’t in stock and Rey set about ordering it. 

She cursed her luck when the owner came into the office asking about the car. She gave the man a once over, tie loose and hair starting to thin and verging on more grey than brown. He already looked annoyed and Rey knew this conversation wasn’t going to go well.

“Ford Focus?” he asked.

“Yes, Mr. Walton. See, unfortunately, we have to order a part for your car--”

“And why wasn’t that done before?” he asked, his face hardening.

“Well, we just found out that it was needed today--”

“We? Where’s Han and Chewie?”

“Han is out in the garage, but Chewie doesn’t work here anymore,” Rey said in her most soothing voice. She was beginning to get aggravated with this man. “I’m sorry, apparently Han tried to run this on his own--”

“Why wasn’t I notified? I need my car!” His face was getting red.

Rey stood and put on her best smile. “I’m truly sorry for not calling you and want to apologize for this, but the part should get here tomorrow--”

“You can cancel it! I’m going to take my car elsewhere!” His face was the color of a stop sign now and Rey lost it.

“You will calm down,” she said sternly. “You will calm down and you will apologize.”

She watched his eyes glaze over. “I apologize,” Mr. Walton said.

“You will let us work on your car. You will leave here knowing your car is in the best of hands.”

“I will leave here and know that my car is in the best of hands.”

Rey smiled sweetly again. “Have a good night Mr. Walton.”

“You as well,” he said. His face wasn’t red anymore and Rey watched him leave as she took a deep breath.

“How did you do that?” Rey jumped at Han’s voice.

Rey felt her cheeks heat. “I, uh, well,” she trailed off.

“Lock up and let’s talk,” Han said. Rey quickly locked the front door and turned off the open sign. When she turned around, Han was sitting at the desk with two cups of water, one for each of them. “So, are you going to explain how you did that?”

Rey shrugged as she took a seat opposite him. “I’m very persuasive,” she said, which was the truth.

“You told him what to think.”

“I didn’t--”

“He repeated your words.” Han looked her in the eyes. “And metal burns you.”

“Yes,” she said hesitantly.

“How long have you been able to do that, whatever it was?”

“All my life,” Rey admitted. “But I don’t use it often!” She didn’t mentioned she’d used it twice this month so far. It was more than she was comfortable with.

“And the metal?”

“Same.”

“Can you lie?”

“Excuse me?”

“Tell me my shirt is blue,” he said.

“But it’s grey,” Rey replied.

“Well, tell me it’s blue.”

Rey gulped. “I guess, in certain light, some could say it could look blue.” She immediately took a sip of water, hating how roundabout that was. She’d never really been able to lie.

Han ran his hands over his face. “I think,” he began slowly, “I know why those things happen.”

Rey started. She’d wondered all her life why she wasn’t like everyone else, why she couldn’t lie and why random weird things would happen to her (like being able to find almost anything that was lost). “How?”

“You remind me of someone I know. I, well, I’m not the best one to explain, kid. And we’re going to see her.”

“Who?”

“My wife.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this posts right from my phone.


	5. Chapter 4

Ben Solo or, as he was known in the Unseelie Court, Kylo Ren, marched down the dark corridor to the throne room. The walls shone with drops of moisture and gave the whole place a slightly cooler feel. He’d become used to it since he had pledged his allegiance to King Snoke; he’d also become used to being the prize in Snoke’s army. Though his fealty was readily given years ago, some still murmured about where his true loyalties lay.

The wound in his side was proof of that. He’d been ambushed after he let his guard down for a second while waiting to meet whoever it was that sent him that stupid note in an acorn. That should have tipped him off in the first place: he hadn’t seen those things since he’d been running around in his mother’s court as a child. He didn’t honestly need the information about the solitary fae, he just wanted it to present to his King. He didn’t need another person who wanted to kill him; he already had more of those than he cared to count. He did not need people to trust him (though most of those in the Court assumed he was a spy for his mother), he had cultivated enough of an aura of fear to keep his enemies at bay. Apparently they were getting cocky.

Not to mention he had to figure out how to make sure that damn human girl didn’t do anything with his true name. It was bad enough he had needed to accept her help but worse that her stupid first question was the only one he hoped he wouldn’t be asked. Then again, from his time trying to blend with humans, he did remember people being oddly curious about real names. Even if his mother always told him to give a nickname of some kind.

He stopped before the large black doors that lead to the throne room and took a steadying breath. The healing skin on his abdomen pulled tightly, and he tried not to wince.

“You look a little pale,” a regrettably familiar voice sneered.

Kylo turned to glare at his fellow knight. “I haven’t seen the sun recently,” Kylo said smoothly. Technically, again, it was true; the last time he was outside it was raining.

Hux’s lips thinned and Kylo noted that the redhead seemed slightly less pleased than usual. Though he’d feel positively grumpy all the time if his hair almost glowed in the dark the way Hux’s did. “Pity,” Hux finally said. “Don’t want to keep Snoke waiting.” Hux gestured with a black gloved hand. Though both were clad in dark clothes, Hux’s were much less formal, consisting of a sturdy tunic and black pants, while Kylo kept his outer armor of black leather.

The throne room was lit with torches with green fire. Snoke, King of the Unseelie Court, sat on his throne against the wall opposite the door, his marred face half hidden in shadow. Since he was a child, Kylo had heard of how the Unseelie King had branded himself with iron to create a more fearsome look. It certainly did the trick: Snoke’s grey skin stretched over odd angles. His robes were a darker shade of grey and cascaded to the first steps up the dais.

Both knights knelt before their King and waited for the reason for their summons.

“It is almost Midsummer,” Snoke said lowly. 

“Yes, my King,” Hux said. Kylo hated how much Hux tried to please Snoke.

“It’s been seven years since our last sacrifice; it’s time for another.” Snoke waved his hand dismissively.

“Of course, my King,” Kylo answered first.

“Stand, Kylo.” Kylo did not look at Hux when he stood, though he was sure his fellow was giving him a dirty look. “You met a girl recently, did you not?”

Kylo tried not to let any emotion show on his face. “I did,” he said calmly.

“So she’s faery touched, now.” Kylo nodded. “Yes, she will be a perfect sacrifice.”

“Excuse me, my King?” 

“She will be the first death of summer. The smoke from her pyre will sustain the Unseelie as they wait for the days to continually shorten and our time to come. It will linger in the halls for the next seven years, reminding them that there is still darkness.” Kylo knew all this; he’d heard it before, whispered throughout the Court. Yet, he knew Snoke felt the need to tell him. “And you, my dear knight, shall bring her to me.”

“Me?” Kylo asked.

“You know what she looks like and you owe her a life debt. I can’t have my best knight owing some weak human that. Better to make her life useful in some way.”

Kylo hadn’t even thought about owning the girl his life. “I will do as my King commands,” he said. 

“Of course you will,” Snoke said, pride evident in his voice. “Should you fail, however, I believe Hux will be able to bring the girl in.”

“I will do what my King needs,” Hux said, and Kylo knew he was standing now as well.

“Good. Kylo Ren, you are to bring the girl to me in within three days. Should you fail to do so, Hux will bring her instead.”

The knights bowed and left. Kylo began to form a plan to find the girl. She must live somewhere on that road or at least in Ithaca. He could search all the places he knew people her age to frequent, it would just take some time. 

“Do you think you’re up for this?” Hux asked. “Will your Seelie sensibilities be offended by the sacrifice?”

Kylo turned and threw Hux against the wall. “You know as well as I do that the Seelie Court is just as dangerous and fond of blood as the Unseelie. They just hide it behind pretty flowers. Or did you forget your tenure there?”

Hux smirked. “I have not, but I was born to this court while you were born, well, partially to that one.”

Kylo let the barb about his parentage hit without a sting. Years ago he would have tried to kill Hux for his words, but he’d come to learn that violence, in cases such as these, should be used sparingly against others. He could tear apart his room all he wanted later. “I might have been born to it, but you forget my grandfather was too. He was loyal to King Palpatine.”

“Yes, till the bitter end, if I remember correctly,” Hux replied.

Not much was known as to what happened when both the former Unseelie King and his best knight, Darth Vader, had perished. What was clear was that a year later there was still no one to rule over the Unseelie, so Snoke took control. Vader’s children had been considered as possible heirs, but both turned their backs on the Unseelie: Luke to join the solitary fae and Leia to become Queen of the Seelie Court after being named heir.

“I will follow in his footsteps,” Kylo said.

“Is that a promise?” Hux asked.

“It is a statement.” Kylo would not promise that; it could bind him to acts he did not wish to commit, if the stories his uncle had told him about Vader killing Palpatine were true.

“Then I wish you all the luck in your quests, both of them. Now, if you’ll let me go.” Kylo stepped back. Hux smoothed out the front of his shirt. “I’ll be waiting for you to fail.”

“I won’t,” Kylo said.

“We’ll see. Oh, and Kylo? Watch out for stray arrows.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So jennity-blogs over on tumblr did a recording of this fic and YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HONORED I AM LOOK THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN TO ME! Link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-661854610/sets/larirenshadows-like-blood-like
> 
> ~~at some point I will learn to html~~


	6. Chapter 5

“We’re going to Cornell?” Rey asked as she took in her surroundings. She’d gone with her grandfather to his office a few times over the past week and she recognized a part of the campus. She sat back in her seat in Han’s Falcon, the smell of leather almost overpowering the fumes from the engine.

“Yeah, it’s the only entrance I know,” Han said, not taking his eyes off the road. Rey noticed his hands gripped the steering wheel a little tighter the longer they drove.

“You said we’re going to see your wife,” Rey began slowly.

“We are.”

“Is she a professor or something?”

Han shook his head. “No but she was at one point. Not sure if she even taught any classes or just used it as a cover.” He chuckled softly. “She claimed to be a professor of folklore, which is actually very fitting.”

“Why?”

Han pulled into a dirt parking lot in front of a small white building. There were rows of trees behind it, and though the building looked closed, Rey could see what looked like a cash register inside as well as white baskets. He turned off the car and looked at her. “Kid, did anyone ever tell you faery tales as a child?”

“You mean like Disney movies?” Rey asked.

“Yes, but other ones. Like ones where mischievous faeries trick people into doing their bidding or make outrageous promises that can’t seem to come true unless terrible things happen.”

“I guess, but they’re just stories. Honestly, you should talk to Finn about--”

“They’re real.”

Rey looked him straight in the eye. “Come again?”

“They’re true. Well, maybe not the Little Match Girls or the Rose Reds but close enough. They’re real and that’s where we’re going.”

“To faery tale land? In an apple orchard?”

“If the Court hasn’t moved, then yes. And don’t call it faery tale land, they’re touchy about that.” Han got out of the car and slammed his door. “Come on,” he called.

Rey sat there trying to decide if she should go or if she should text Finn or her grandfather to come get her. Han was, quite possibly, out of his mind. He was also her boss and seemed to think he knew what he was doing and she could lose her job if she didn’t go.

“It’s just a stroll through some trees,” she muttered to herself as she unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed out of the car. 

Right before the trees, Han stopped and turned back to look at her. “You should also know there are two courts: the Seelie, where we’re going, and the Unseelie, where you should hope to never go. They’re almost like the good guys and the bad guys, but don’t let your guard down. Got it?” Rey nodded.

The evening summer air smelled like apple blossoms and Rey was thankful for the slight cooling breeze. “So, how do you know these stories are real?” Rey asked as she followed Han into the orchard. 

“I married one,” he said. “Look, I didn’t believe either, but when you see your wife change appearance in front of your eyes things change.”

“Well, I haven’t seen that yet,” Rey muttered.

“Trust me, you will. I have a feeling you might be a part of that world anyway.” Han stopped and turned to look at her. “They’re called the Kindly Ones for a reason, Rey. Play nice with them and they will return the favor. Try to pull one over and you’re in trouble.”

“Speaking from experience?”

Han shrugged. “Possibly.” 

They continued to walk through the trees, white petals falling with the breeze. The smell became stronger the farther they walked in, and Rey could swear the light was beginning to almost shimmer through the branches. The petals began to dance on the wind, which became almost like a song. “We’re here,” Han whispered, breaking the spell Rey hadn’t even known she’d fallen under. “Keep your eyes open.” Rey tried to clear her mind. She kept getting distracted by the petals and the song. “Oh for--” Han muttered. “Leia, I know you’re here!”

That jolted Rey out of her trance for a little. She heard a faint laugh. “You always were too good at seeing through my tricks,” a voice called. It sounded sweet but Rey could almost detect a slight steel under the tone.

“Of course I am. I want to talk to you.” People began to appear from around the trees. Rey saw short round faced creatures with skin the color and texture of bark dart out. There were ethereal men and women clad in gowns in the colors of dawn that seemed to be made of mist. Their bright silver hair glowed around their head. There were people with wings and skin the color of ivy, though their eyes were a deep black. Rey tried to take it all in but wasn’t allowing herself to believe any of it.

A woman with rich brown hair stepped forward, clad in a simple white dress with a silver belt at her waist. Her lips were the color of apples that might just be poisoned with a curse and her brown eyes were warm. “No greeting for your wife?” she asked.

Han smirked. “Are you expecting me to bow, your highness?”

The woman waved a hand. “You deserve that honorific as much as I do. But who do we have here?”

Han put his hand on the small of Rey’s back to push her forward. “This is Rey, she’s my new assistant. Rey, my wife, Queen Leia of the Seelie Court.” Leia walked forward and gently cupped Rey’s face with her hands. Though Rey was taller than Leia, she felt tiny in comparison.

“I see why you brought her here. I think it’s best if we go somewhere to discuss.” With another wave of her hand the people gathered almost vanished, some even fading into the bark of trees. “Follow me.” Rey did as she was told. They walked through the trees, Rey catching glimpses of people gathered together, some drinking from gold goblets while others fed apples to tiny children. They passed through a dense thicket of trees which opened up into what Rey assumed was a parlor room of some kind. There was a chess table in the corner and a couch upholstered in pale pink velvet with two matching chairs in the other. A table grew out of vines in front of her between the couch and chairs.

Rey plopped herself down as gracefully as she could on the couch while still trying to sit on the edge rather than lean back. A man with pale blue skin brought in a tray with a silver decanter and crystal glasses. She waited as Leia poured clear golden liquid into each before handing them to both herself and Han. “It’s safe to drink,” Leia assured her.

“You’re not supposed to eat or drink anything someone gives you in stories,” Rey said as she eyed the liquid in her glass.

“It won’t harm you.”

“Why?”

Leia smiled. “You’re already a member of my court; you’re already bound to me.”

“I’m what?”

Leia set her glass down and folder her hands in her lap. “You’re a faery, child. A changeling, to be precise. There might even be a little girl who looks like you running through the trees right now.”

“That’s...but...I’m not a faery,” Rey said.

“You stink of iron, that’s true.”

“You say the same about me,” Han said before taking a sip of his drink. “I do always miss the apple wine.”

“Just remember what happened the last time you over indulged,” Leia chided. She turned back to Rey. “As I was saying, you stink of iron but I can see through your glamour. You’ve had strange luck all your life, yes? Sometimes metal burns with no apparent cause?” Rey nodded. “Your true nature is coming through. It usually happens during adolescence.”

“How do you know I’m from your court?” Rey could only focus on one thing at a time. That she was possibly a faery would come after figuring out how Leia knew to claim her.

“We do changelings while the Unseelie Court just takes children.”

“Oh.” 

“Who were your parents?”

“John Niima and Melanie Kenobi,” Rey answered without thinking.

“Kenobi,” Leia rolled the name on her tongue. “I know that name. Are you related to Ben Kenobi?”

“I just found out he’s my grandfather,” Rey admitted. 

Leia hummed in acknowledgement. “So you came back here to live with him,” she guessed. “Yes, you’re supposed to come back to us.” Rey shifted in her seat, suddenly ill at ease. “I’m glad we choose Ben’s grandchild. I knew Ben rather well before meeting Han.”

“Try not to make me jealous, Sweetheart.”

Leia patted Han’s leg. “You are my only consort.”

“I can’t be a faery,” Rey insisted. 

“You are, you just don’t see it yet. You were born here and a glamour was put on you almost instantly so your parents would accept you. You could remove it, if you want.”

“Why don’t you do it for me?” Rey challenged.

“Everything you know will be different. You won’t be able to touch iron at all, the world will come into sharper focus than you can imagine. You will be overwhelmed,” Leia said softly.

“Then why even mention it?”

“It’s fading on its own. The glamours aren’t meant to last your whole life; the changelings always come back. In a few years time you will begin to see other changes.”

“Will I still be able to work on cars?”

Leia laughed and for once Rey thought the sound of wind chimes sounded slightly malicious. “Heavens no. You think the red your hands turn now is bad? It will singe your skin.”

Rey stood. “I think I’d like to go now.”

Leia stood as well and slightly inclined her head. “If you wish. I’m here to answer any of your questions if you have them. Han knows how to contact me, though recently it seems he’s forgotten.”

“It works two ways.”

“Of course it does.”

Rey reached the trees and turned around. “I have two questions before I go,” she began slowly. “One is how do I remove the glamour?”

Leia sighed. “You look at yourself through a rock with a natural hole or you touch a four leaf clover. And the other question?”

“Is Rey even my real name?”

“I don’t know what your fae parents named you,” Leia answered. “Whether you think that is your real name or not is up to you.”

Rey nodded and left. She could hear Han’s heavy footsteps behind her. She had to get away from Leia and just have a moment to think. She didn’t want to be stuck in a car with Han for any amount of time but she also wanted to get as far away from here as possible right now. When she emerged from the orchard it felt like she’d been doused with cold water. There was a slight chill in the air and dusk had fallen.

“You alright?” Han asked when he appeared next to her.

“No,” she admitted.

“Come on, I’ll get you some dinner before taking you home.”

“I’d rather just go home,” she said.

Han held up his hands. “I was just offering.”

They spent the drive in silence. Rey kept her head pressed against the window except when she texted Finn to come over as soon as possible. She needed to talk to someone about this and it wasn’t going to be Han.

Rey nearly jumped out of the car as soon as Han put it in park in front of her house. “Kid, wait,” Han called as he opened his door. 

“What?”

“Just... listen to Leia,” he said. “I know it’s a hard thing to do but just try to.”

Rey bit her lip. “I’ll try,” she said, knowing full well she’d try and fail.

“Good, see you in the morning.”

Rey waved. Just as Han’s car pulled out of the driveway Rey’s phone beeped.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” the text from Finn read.

Rey sat down on the porch and waited for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Jennity-blogs did a recording of this!](https://soundcloud.com/user-661854610/sets/larirenshadows-like-blood-like) [And I have a tumblr](lariren-shadow.tumblr.com)


	7. Chapter 6

She kept checking her phone, waiting for Finn to arrive. She eyed the overgrown lawn in front of her grandfather’s house. She could see a few patches of clover. If all she had to do was touch a four leaf clover, she could easily do that. “This is so stupid,” she muttered to herself as she checked her phone again. She looked up when she heard a car pull up.

Finn immediately got out of his black, slightly rusty car. “What’s the emergency?” he asked as he sat next to her on the porch.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Rey said as she leaned back.

“Try me.”

“Remember earlier today when you said something about faery tales?” Finn nodded. “Well, apparently I should be in them, but not as the human girl. As the faery.” 

Finn laughed. “That’s a good one Rey,” he said after he recovered. “Now what’s the real issue?”

“No, it’s true. I’m a changeling.”

“A faery switched at birth with a human child?”

“How does everyone know what this is?” Rey asked.

“I just heard stories. Those things don’t exist though.”

“And neither do wounded men bleeding out in the woods,” Rey countered. 

“You look so normal.”

“If I touch a four leaf clover or look at myself through a naturally formed hole in a rock I might lose the glamour, which is apparently hiding whatever I’m supposed to look like.”

“Then roll in the clover,” Finn said.

“I was thinking that, but it’s stupid.”

“It is, but there’s only one way to really prove this is nonsense.”

“Fine.” Rey stood and stretched out. She walked over to the closest patch of clover and smirked. “If nothing happens you have to promise to never bring this up again.”

Finn crossed his arms over his chest. “Just roll around already.”

Rey took a deep breath and lay down on the ground. She started giggling as she rolled over and over. She sat up and held up her hands. “See? Nothing.” She trailed off as she saw a piece of her skin hanging off her wrist. She gently pulled and the skin came away like pulling off dried glue. Underneath her skin was the rich golden hue she remembered from getting tan over the summer. “Finn,” she called as she peeled off another strip. 

They sat in the dying light as Rey’s new skin was revealed. “So this is happening,” Finn said as he poked the pile of skin.

Rey flexed her fingers and noticed an extra joint close the tips. “This is weird,” Rey whispered. She took a deep breath and coughed. “What the hell kind of cologne are you using?”

“The one I’ve always used and you haven’t had any issue with before?” Finn replied.

“It’s stronger now. And I can smell rain coming.” She looked up at the approaching clouds. “I’ve never been able to do that before.”

“Let’s get inside before it’s too dark.”

“It’s not that bad.”

Finn stood. “Well, vampires and werewolves have excellent eyesight at night so I don’t see why faeries would be different. However, us humans don’t.”

Rey stood and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. Her finger tip touched the top of her ear and dislodged another piece of skin. “I think I have pointed ears.”

“Inside and we’ll take a look.”

She followed Finn inside her house. As soon as she entered, she could smell the garbage in the kitchen mixed with the smell of the aging paper in the books on the shelves. It was overwhelming, not to mention being able to see every speck of dust when she turned on the light. The hum of the lights mixed with the hum of the fridge as she sat down at the kitchen table. Finn opened the fridge and pulled out a beer and quickly opened it.

“I’m 21,” he said when she raised an eyebrow, “and I’ll bring your grandpa a replacement.”

“I don’t think he’d miss it, and he said I’m allowed to drink whatever he has.”

“Well good, because this certainly deserves a drink.” He offered her the bottle. She could smell the remnants of his mouth on the bottle. She still took a swig. “Your ears are pointed.”

“That’s the least of my problems. I’m apparently a faery.”

“It explains how you can do that persuasion thing.” Rey hit his arm. “It’s true! And maybe why you ran into that guy.”

“Fine, it explains all that and why I can’t be around cars that long...shit I need to figure out how to put that stupid glamour back on.” She stood and headed to her room.

“Where are you going?” Finn called.

“To google this whole thing! I can’t lose my job!”

“You realize we can google on our phones, right?” He asked.

Rey rolled her eyes as she sat down on her bed and opened her laptop. She also grabbed the stuffed bunny she’d had since she was a child and held it close. “I do, but maybe I needed something else.”

“Ah,” Finn said as he sat down on the chair by the wooden desk in the corner. Rey was glad she’d picked up the clothes that had been tossed over her floor earlier in the week. “What are you going to google?”

“How to put a glamour back on? Look, if that doesn’t work then I’ll think of something,” Rey said as she scrolled through the results. “All of this is about make up.”

“What do you expect?”

“Someone to make a tutorial or something!” Rey shouted.

“Because there are so many faeries who use computers,” Finn drawled. “How did you learn about the clover thing anyway?”

“Han’s faery queen wife,” Rey muttered as she tried to refine her search.

“He has a faery wife?” Rey looked up and glared at Finn. “Right, like that’s out the realm of possibilities at the moment.”

Rey clicked a few pages that ended up being completely unhelpful. “This! I think I found it!’

Finn crawled on the bed next to her to read over her shoulder. “You just imagine it like putting a coat over yourself?”

“I guess. First I focus magic into my hand.” She held out her hand and imaged energy curling and flowing from the top of her arm down. Before her eyes a ball shimmered in her right hand. “You see this too, right?”

“Yeah,” Finn nodded. “I just can’t believe it.”

“Okay, and now I pull it over myself, thinking about how I want to look.” Rey hovered her left hand over the ball and rubbed her hand up her right arm. Her skin dulled in the wake of her hand. “It’s working.” She continued over her face. She stopped being able to smell Finn or anything else, all her senses dulled again. “Oh, that’s better.” She finished the rest of her body, willing the glamour to settle over her skin. “How do I look?”

“Like yourself.”

Rey pulled her legs to her chest and hugged them. “So that happened.”

“It did.”

“Are you freaking out?”

“Yes, very much.”

Rey gripped her legs a little tighter. “Me too. Would you mind staying the night?” Rey watched Finn’s eyes go wide. “Not like that! I just...need a friend right now.”

“Yeah, sure. Will your grandpa be ok with it?”

“I’ll text him, he said he was possibly going to have dinner with colleagues tonight and would be back late. Honestly, I’m surprised he isn’t home yet.” After sending the text they went downstairs again and each of them had their own beer this time.

“I think I’m okay with this now,” Finn finally said.

Rey snorted. “That makes one of us.”

“Do you think that guy you helped is, you know, a faery too?”

Rey bit her lip. “Yesterday I would have said that was impossible but today I’m not so sure. He was tall but that doesn’t mean anything.”

“You could ask him,” Finn offered.

“Oh yes just go up to him the next time I see him and say ‘Hi Ben, I just met you, and this is crazy, but I’m a faery, are you one too?’”

“That doesn’t go with the song.” Rey threw a pillow at him. “Well it doesn’t and no, you have a point. It is a little weird. Do you have anything for me to sleep in?” Rey stood and pulled open her bottom drawer. She grabbed a pair of dark grey sweatpants and handed them to Finn. “These work. I’ll go change.”

“I’ll do that too and make up the couch.”

~*~*~

When Rey woke up, she could have sworn the entire day before had been a dream. There was no such thing as faeries, and her boss certainly wasn’t married to one nor was she one herself. She sat up in bed and flexed her fingers. Normal as could be.

Someone knocked on her door, causing her to jump slightly. “Come in,” she said, her voice hoarse from sleep.

Finn poked his head in. “How about you get dressed and ready for work and we go get coffee?”

Rey wrinkled her nose. “So I didn’t dream anything, did I?’

“About you being a, you know,” Finn pantomimed flying. “No, you didn’t.”

“Great. I’ll be ready in ten minutes.”

She quickly dressed and brushed her teeth. She pulled her hair back into a bun and took a deep breath. “You’re still you,” she told her reflection, half expecting it to answer her back. It didn’t.

Finn babbled away as they drove to the coffee shop. Rey noticed that her throat stung the longer she stayed in the car. She hoped it would go away soon.

She got them a table in the corner while Finn went up to order drinks and food. She wasn’t entirely hungry but food was necessary. She was contemplating if she could still do her job when Finn set a plate with a scone down in front of her before adding a large ceramic cup of coffee with a single daisy painted on the outside. 

“Can you still eat this?” Finn asked as he set his own plate and mug down.

“Don’t see why not,” Rey said as she broke off a piece of her pastry. She ate it with no reaction and assumed it was good. It didn’t taste too bad either, though she wasn’t a huge fan of blueberry. “How are you handling this?”

“You’re asking me how I’m handling finding out one of my friends, whom I’ve met only recently, is a faery?”

Rey felt her cheeks heat up. “Um, yeah?”

“I’m fantastic, but how are you holding up?”

“Honestly, not sure,” Rey admitted. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel about this, and it opens up so many more questions: are my real parents still alive, why me, does this mean things that have happened to me are because of this?”

“I wouldn’t over think it too much for the last part. What happens happens, and you can’t really change that. You can work to change the future.”

“Thank you for that motivational speech,” Rey muttered. She took a sip of her coffee and almost spat it out when she saw who walked in.

In the full light of day, he looked slightly less pale than before. Ben was still, however, dressed in black from head to toe. Only this time he was wearing a t-shirt and jeans as opposed to armor. His hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and Rey immediately thought he looked better when his hair down. “Finn,” she hissed, “that’s him.”

Finn turned to look at the door. “Oh, well, he doesn’t look like he’s been injured recently.” Rey kicked him under the table. “Just making an observation.” Ben surveyed the shop and locked eyes with Rey. “He’s coming over now, isn’t he?” 

 

Rey nodded and sat up a little straighter. She waved slightly and said “hello” when he got closer to the table.

“We need to talk,” he said gruffly.

“Ok, grab a chair. This is my friend Finn--” Rey began.

“Alone.”

“Why would we need to talk alone?”

“It’s about what happened the other day.”

“Look,” Finn piped in. “Why don’t you two go outside for a little while I get us more coffee?”

“Finn!” Rey protested as Ben took her hand.

“I would like sugar in mine,” Ben said as he began to drag Rey outside. Rey kept his pace and immediately yanked her hand out of his when they were outside.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” she asked.

Ben grit his teeth. Rey held her breath, waiting for him to answer. “A half-faery knight who gave up his place in one court to serve the other,” he finally said.

Rey opened and closed her mouth. “You just said you were a faery.”

“I did.”

“That’s...you can’t be.”

He rolled his eyes. “I can.” He brushed his hair behind his ears, revealing the pointed tips.

Rey slumped down on to the sidewalk. “This can’t be happening.”

Ben sat next to her. “It is and I have to tell you something.”

“Oh, are you also the tooth--” Rey didn’t get to finish her sentence before Ben’s lips were on hers. She felt a slight shock at the touch and tried to angle her head a little. Ben immediately pulled away when she did that.

“Don’t say another word,” he said. “You have three questions from me and as much as I’d like for you to spend them on silly nonsense, that question wasn’t worth it.” 

“You kissed me,” she said. He nodded. “Why?”

“It was the only way to stop you for talking.” He paused and looked at her mouth quickly. “You should leave town for a few days,” he said.

Rey thought over her response. “You’re trying to warn me,” she said clearly.

“I am. You have to trust me.”

“Like you’ve given me any reason to trust you, Ben Solo,” she muttered.

“I gave you my name.”

Rey huffed. “That doesn’t mean anything.”

“It means more than you know. Be as clever as I think you are and leave.”

Rey rolled her eyes. She stood up and brushed the dirt from her backside. “I need more coffee before going at it with you some more.” She watched Ben’s eyes go wide and was about to ask what was going on when something hit the back of her head. She pitched forward and cursed the fact she was going to land face first on the ground before blacking out.

~*~*~

Kylo caught Rey before she hit the ground. “You didn’t need to do that,” he said as he adjusted his hold on Rey. She was dead weight in his arms and he quickly moved her around so her head rested on his shoulder, while one arm curled under her legs, and the other supported her back. 

Hux smiled. “Did you know your little savior is a faery?”

Kylo looked at the girl in his arms. He honestly had no idea. “No,” he whispered.

“From your mother’s court as well. I’m sure she’ll be a pretty sacrifice.”

Kylo acted quickly. He moved Rey over his shoulder to free his arm. The crunch of Hux’s nose made the slight pain in his knuckles worth it as did the bright red dripping on to Hux’s lip. “She can’t be that now.”

Hux kicked and hit Kylo in his still healing wound. He doubled over and dropped Rey. “We’ll see about that,” Hux said as he picked up Rey. “Can’t disobey Snoke’s orders now, can we?” Kylo forced himself to stand as Hux walked away into the shadow of a tree and disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty long chapter and I just wanted to thank everyone who comments or leaves kudos. They make my day so much!


	8. Chapter 7

Rey’s head hurt as she rolled over in bed. Clearly, the day before had been one huge dream that continued with that stupid LARPing guy from the woods also being involved. She’d fallen asleep in dreams before and woken up. Now, though, the pounding in her head must mean she was really awake. She reached out in search of her phone to check the time. When she couldn’t locate the damn thing, she opened her eyes to actually look for it.

Instead of pale blue walls of her room at her grandfather’s house, she was greeted by a black stone wall. She tried to jump out of the bed only to catch her foot in the black bedding. Hitting the stone floor made her head hurt more. She stood and braced herself on the bed until the slightly lightheaded feeling passed. 

Rey ran to the door of black wood and tried to pull it open. It wouldn’t budge. Thinking it could open the other way she started pushing it. After about five minutes of trying, she slid to the floor with her back resting on the door.

“Great,” she muttered. “I’m trapped somewhere with no phone, no window to climb out of, and have probably lost my job for being a no call, no show.” Rey rested her head against her knees and tried to think of a solution. There wasn’t a way out, but maybe could figure out a way to attack whoever came to check on her. All she had to do was incapacitate them long enough for her to run out the door. 

She immediately discounted trying to break off any piece of the four poster bed to use. There wasn’t even a table in the room for her to use either. There were, however, torches. She stood and grabbed a pillow off the bed. It was easy to cover one of the flames and luckily her plan to smother the flame worked instead of setting the pillow on fire. She yanked the wood out of its apparently stone holder.

Makeshift club in hand, she waited in front of the door. And waited. Rey huffed and sat on the bed. If no one was going to come check on her, how was she going to escape? Just as she was about to give up, the door creaked. She jumped up and grabbed the club, ready to strike.

In walked Ben Solo and Rey didn’t hesitate. She ran at him and swung at his head. He easily caught the club and yanked it out of her hand.

“Impressive,” he said as he threw the club behind him. With a wave of his hand the door closed behind him. “Usually people go for the bedding to make rope. I should have known you would find a different solution.”

“I’ll admit the rope idea is a good one, but blunt objects tend to do the trick quicker,” Rey replied.

“Always more direct.”

“Did you come here to gloat or to actually do something?” Rey asked.

“Is that your official third question?”

Rey rolled her eyes. “No.”

“Well, then I don’t have to answer you.” He threw a white piece of cloth at her. “Get dressed.”

Rey caught it and muttered “Kiss my ass, Ben Solo,” before shaking it out. She could just make out that it was a dress before she felt herself being bent over. “What are you-” she didn’t finish as Ben pulled down the back of her jeans and kissed her. “You just,” she paused, “literally kissed my ass.”

Ben stood. “You can command me to do anything if you say my name.”

“Oh.”

“It is an unfortunate consequence. Get dressed.”

“I won’t get dressed unless I know what it’s for.”

Kylo sighed. “You are stubborn, aren’t you?” Rey kept her mouth closed. “Fine. If you must know, you have the honor of ensuring those of the Unseelie Court will last through the summer months.”

“That doesn’t sound like something I want to do.”

“Personally, I wouldn’t want to be burned alive, but I don’t know if you’d like that type of thing. The Unseelie Court is thankful for your sacrifice.” He bowed slightly.

Rey took a step back. “You’re a monster.”

“Sweet Rey,” Kylo said as he gently grabbed her chin. “We’re all monsters in the Unseelie Court.” Rey threw the dress at him and ran to try to get the club. He quickly recovered and grabbed her around the middle. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

“Hard way,” she said through clenched teeth as she elbowed him in the stomach. He let go of her for a second and she dashed away. He tackled her before she could get the club.

“Look,” he sneered into her ear, “I owe you my life.”

“Then let me go,” she said as she struggled to get out from under him.

“I can’t, I’ve been ordered to present you to King Snoke. If, however, you come up with a plan to save yourself I will go along with it.”

She stopped struggling. “Promise?”

“What?”

“Promise me you’ll follow whatever plan I come up with.”

“Why do I have to promise?”

She tried to get up again, but he kept her pinned. “Isn’t that how this works? I have to make you promise to do something and make you swear on something stupid like your sword and you’re bound to it?”

He sighed. “It is. Fine, I swear on my true name that I will help you with whatever plan you come up with.” He sat back on his knees, allowing her to get up. “But you have to wear that dress, and you’re the one who has to come up with the plan.”

“Leave me alone to think.” She sat up and watched him turn to leave. “Wait,” she said before he left as an idea struck her. “I need a four leaf clover.” He raised an eyebrow. “For luck,” she said. He shrugged and left.

Rey picked up the white dress and grimaced. She’d have to play along as long as possible until she could get out of this mess. She quickly put on the dress and tied the black sash around her waist twice. She put her sneakers back on, knowing she would need them more than bare feet. She sat down on the bed to think over what she could do and the only plans she could come up with besides revealing she wasn’t human were completely outrageous. Then again, she wasn’t in the most rational of situations at the moment.

She jumped when the door opened again. “Can’t you knock?”

“You’re not really in a position to ask for courtesy. Do you have a plan?” She nodded. “I have your clover then. What do you require me to do?”

Rey took a deep breath. “You’re going to pretend like you’re going to light the pyre. You won’t, and if you can please tie whatever ropes that I’m going to assume you’ll need to tie me in as loose as possible. I’ll need a sword as soon as I get free, if you can help with that.”

“That’s your plan?” Rey nodded. “I promised I’d help you then. For me, you have to cooperate.” He held out the clover for her and Rey clutched it in her palm. She could already feel her skin start to peel around the plant. “You’re going to have to pretend you’re under my control.”

Rey smirked. “Like I’m in your thrall or something?”

“Exactly.”

“You want me to act like I’m falling all over you, don’t you?”

“I am going to refuse to answer that,” Kylo said. “Just walk with me and let me do what I have to.”

He opened the door for her. Rey squared her shoulders and held her head high. As soon as she was in the hall she waited for Kylo to follow. She stayed close to him and decided to grab his arm. She schooled her face to be in the best love smitten look she could. 

“You look like you’re about to vomit,” Kylo said.

“I was trying to act like I wanted you, but I guess you only make me sick,” she whispered.

“Just keep walking,” he whispered. She instinctively moved closer to him as they walked down the black corridor. She could see shadows moving and waited for something to jump out at her.

Once inside the throne room, Rey began to doubt her plan. There were creatures everywhere: small gnarled plant-looking men with emerald skin, figures that looked like old women whose skirts just brushed the floor, regal looking people in dark colors sipping something that stained their lips red out of silver goblets. In the center of the room was a wooden stage with a pile of sticks and a pillar attached. “I’m scared,” she admitted softly.

“Just do what you have to,” Kylo said. He took up her to the pillar and tied her hands behind her back, leaving as much slack as possible. When he took his hands away he noticed the flakes of skin on his hands. “What’s this?” he asked as he held his hand up to her.

“I’ll explain once we’re out of here.”

Kylo went to stand next to Snoke, Hux on the other side. Rey tried her hardest to stay calm as she began to work the ropes off her wrists. “We are gathered today to consume the ashes of our mortal Midsummer Sacrifice,” Snoke’s voice boomed. “We appreciate everything you are giving up for us, child.” Rey kept her eyes focused on Snoke’s while he spoke. “Now, Kylo, light the pyre.”

Rey tried not to give any indication the name was different than the one she knew. Kylo took a torch off the wall and walked slowly towards her. “When I give the signal, you get me a sword and we get out of here, got it?” Kylo’s head lowered slightly. 

“And what will that signal be?” Kylo asked.

“You’ll know when it happens.”

“I hope so,” he said as he put the torch down on the sticks farthest from her. 

Rey waited about ten seconds before she shrugged the ropes off her wrist and tried to pull magic into her hands. As soon as she felt the ball of energy in her fingers she threw it at one of the nearest bystanders. The man gasped as he fell backwards into the waif women. Rey jumped over the fire as she ripped the glamour off herself. The masses stared at her and she yelled “Kylo, sword!”

He immediately grabbed the one that hung on Hux’s hip and threw it to her. She caught it and slashed at the woman with pointed teeth who lunged at her. She started slashing her way through creatures in order to get to Kylo. He was dueling with Hux, the latter having found a new weapon in the spiked mace he swung at Kylo. Snoke was nowhere to be seen at the moment. “Kylo come with me,” she commanded. Kylo kicked Hux in the chest and started towards Rey. That was when Rey saw Snoke standing behind Kylo, his own sword raised. “Look out!” Kylo turned and parried the blow easily. 

There were fights breaking out all over the large room, and Rey needed to get out of there. She wasn’t going to leave alone though. She ran up to Kylo’s side. “Ben Solo, I command you to do whatever it takes to help me get out of here.” He glared at her. He turned back to Snoke and, with both hands gripping the hilt of his sword, swung. When Snoke’s head hit the floor, there was a moment of silence until the fighting started again. Kylo grabbed Rey’s arm, dragging her through the crowd.

As they burst into the hallway, Kylo let go of Rey’s hand and started running faster. “Wait for me!” Rey screamed. 

“Clearing a path,” Kylo called. Rey kept running behind him. Once they burst through the door that lead to the outside, Rey stopped running to catch her breath. “No time to stop.” She leaned against a tree and looked around. They were in a forest. Rey groaned, not at all certain where they were.

“Where are we even going?” she asked.

“You should have thought of that!” Kylo said as he turned to look at her.

“Fine! We’re going to my house, follow me!” She stomped away.

“Do you even know where the road is?”

Rey stopped and gripped her sword tighter. “Lead the way to the road and I’ll figure it out from there.” He raised an eyebrow. She sighed. “Lead me to town and I’ll get us to my house.”

“Follow quickly,” Kylo commanded. Rey did, hoping whatever else was in that hall wasn’t following them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and more actual Reylo interaction!


	9. Chapter 8

Rey slumped against the front door, trying the knob first. It was locked and Rey groaned. It was past dark, they’d been walking for over an hour while trying to avoid people seeing them. Kylo assured her they looked perfectly normal to others, having glamoured their clothes. Currently Rey’s sword was a charm on her new necklace.

“You can use magic to open it,” Kylo said.

Rey waved her hand, thinking it wasn’t going to work while still willing the door to open. It did, and she caught herself before falling forward. “Do I have to invite you in?” He shook his head as he brushed past her inside. “Bathroom is down the hall. I’ll use the one upstairs to clean up and I’ll be in my room, which is also up there.” She tried not to blush at the thought of him in her room.

Rey grabbed a pair of old shorts and a shirt before heading to take a shower. She stripped off the dress which disintegrated into rags as it hit the floor. She carefully placed her necklace on the counter, wondering if it would become a full sword again soon. The water felt good on her skin; she could have stayed under there longer but didn’t want to keep Kylo waiting. 

She walked into her room, shaking out her hair to see Kylo sitting on her bed, holding her spare work coverall. “You work at Han’s Garage?” he asked. She nodded. “Of course you would.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Han is my father, and it makes sense he’d hire a faery in hiding as his assistant,” Kylo said with a bitter laugh.

Rey crossed her arms over her chest. “First of all, I didn’t even know I was a faery until a few days ago. Second of all, I was hired because I can fix cars and no other reason. Third of all, what do you mean Han is your father?”

“Exactly what I said.”

“You said you were a half-faery,” Rey said slowly. “And your last name is Solo and you’re Leia’s son for fuck’s sake.” Rey sat down where she had been standing.

“Are you alright?” he asked. Rey shook her head, before putting it in her hands. Suddenly his arms were around her and she was off the floor. “You need to sleep.”

“Put me down!” she shrieked. He dropped her on the bed and joined her there. “What are you doing?”

“Getting ready to sleep and I will not sleep on the floor. That means we’ll share, and your bed is big enough for that.”

“What if I don’t want to sleep?”

“You need it, now close your eyes.” Rey tried to keep her eyes open just to spite him, but eventually she ended up falling asleep.

~*~*~

Rey rubbed her forehead as she walked downstairs to the kitchen for coffee. She wasn’t sure where her phone was, and she was going to need to find a replacement soon. Plus, call Finn to let him know he wasn’t dead and Han to beg for her job. The only problem was she wasn’t sure what Finn’s number was but she could always go see him at coffeeshop. 

She turned into the kitchen and stopped dead. Her grandfather and Ben (or Kylo or whatever) were sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee as if this was a normal occurrence.

“Rey, you didn’t tell me you met my namesake,” her grandfather chuckled as he sipped his coffee.

Rey just narrowed her eyes and went to grab her own cup. She noticed that her guest had put on actual blue jeans but he was in his customary black shirt. She wondered if he’d left and come back. Coffee in hand, she leaned against the counter. “I didn’t know you two knew each other.”

“I knew Benjamin’s mother,” her grandfather clarified, “and I watched him when he was little.”

“Benjamin?”

“I always insisted on using my full name,” Ben said. Rey continued to drink her coffee.

“Any fun Ben stories then?” Rey asked.

“Well, he did always seem to be talking to his imaginary friends,” her grandfather said. “Seemed to think they were real enough to talk back.”

“I never said they went away.” Rey choked on her coffee when she started to laugh. Ben stood and went over and patted her back. 

“I have to get going,” her grandfather said after Rey held up her hand to indicate she was fine. “Oh, and your phone was in the mailbox, not sure how it got there. Also, give me a little warning, if your friends are coming over in the morning.”

“I will,” she said as he left. She turned to Ben. “Benjamin?”

“It’s the only way he could know my name without knowing my real name,” he said. “It would be best if you call me Kylo Ren from now on.”

“Because Ben the faery doesn’t sound as terrifying as Kylo Ren?”

“The less people know my name the better. You need a teacher,” he said.

Rey had been typing a text to Finn after checking to see about fifty messages asking where she had gone off to. “A teacher for what?” she asked without looking up.

“Your magic,” Kylo said.

“I figured it out on my own. You just concentrate and things happen.”

Kylo sighed. “You’re going to need to hone your skills, especially since there will be members of the Unseelie Court running around wanting blood.”

“And you’re the person to teach me?”

“I’m the only one here.”

Rey put her phone down on the counter. “Fine, let me call Han and see if I still have a job and then we’ll maybe work on magic.” Rey started pacing in the kitchen as she waited for Han to pick up the phone. As soon as she heard the first static “hello” Rey launched into an apology. “Han, I’m so sorry that I’ve been gone but something came up and I needed to be with my friend and help him through a rough time-”

“Rey, it’s fine,” Han assured her. “There aren’t that many cars here and you organized enough that if you need to take some time off it’s fine.”

“I’m not fired?” Rey asked, incredulously.

Han laughed. “Kid, I was your age once and sometimes you just need to disappear for a day. Just don’t make it a habit and let me know if you’re going to go.”

“Will do,” Rey said. She clicked the call end button and stared at her phone. “Your dad is really nice.”

“To you, maybe,” Kylo said. “Now get dressed.”

“Bossy,” Rey muttered as she began to walk past him. He caught her around the waist. “I can’t get dressed if you don’t let me go.”

“Use magic to change your clothes.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“You can glamour your clothes just like you can your body. Watch.” Rey took a step back. The air shimmered around Kylo and suddenly he was had a dark wool cape wrapped around his neck that flowed down his back. His shirt turned into a tunic and his jeans became what looked like leather pants. “See?”

“I can do that?” 

“If you concentrate and focus.” Rey nodded. She closed her eyes and tried to pull energy to her. She felt it gather in her palms and she willed it to move up her arms and change her shirt. She opened her eyes and looked down. Her ratty shirt was now a billowy beige tunic and her shorts went from being jeans to khakis. “Not so hard, is it?”

“No.” She looked up. “So what else I can I do?”

“A lot, but we can start with bending people to your will--”

“I can already do that,” she said. “Have been for my entire life and I don’t think that’s something that I need to work on.”

“Fine, we can work on using magic to fight. Outside.”

“Please,” she said.

“Outside, please.” He waved his hand and his black clothes became his original outfit again.

Rey practiced calling magic to her hands and forcing it outwards. Kylo stood off to the side, arms crossed over his chest, barking “again” after every push. She finally got so fed up with his lack of help that she focused on him and sent him flying backwards. 

She walked over and put her foot on his chest. “I think I’ve mastered this little trick,” she said with a smirk.

“It would appear so,” Kylo admitted. “Let me up.” He looked up at the sky. “I should go check on the Court.”

“Will it be bad?” Rey asked.

“There is no one in control right now and they’re unprepared to last the summer. There are a few faeries I’d back, but there are more I want to prevent from taking the throne.” He looked at her. “Make sure you keep that sword on you at all times.”

“I’ll make sure to wear it.”

“And glamour yourself and try not to be out alone after dark.” He leaned down and kissed her softly. “If you need me, come find me under the hill in the cemetery.” 

Rey watched him walk away, stunned. She didn’t know what to make of that kiss. If she was honest, she wasn’t sure what to make of the past few days. Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She had a text from Finn waiting; she’d see him later and maybe try to figure out everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I put bed sharing in here only because I can? Yes. Do I regret it? No. 
> 
> Also today the ebook for Keeping the Stars Apart comes out. There is going to be a link on tumblr from the reylofanfictionanthology where I am also a mod. The whole story will be there and I just dropped the ball on posting this more frequently. I'm still going to post the whole thing here, potentially done by next weekend.
> 
> All the stories are wonderful and if you haven't checked out the collection on Archive already you should.
> 
> Again thank you all for reading and leaving kudos!


	10. Chapter 9

The bell sounded much clearer when Rey entered the coffee shop than it had before. Then again, she wasn’t trying to hide her extra senses anymore, which meant everything was sharper. She did glamour herself, but only slightly. 

“You’re here so much I might just offer you that job,” Phasma commented as she rang Rey up. Phasma looked her up and down. “Did you get a job outside or something?”

“Huh? No,” Rey said.

“You look like you got a tan.”

Rey felt her cheeks heat up. “Oh yeah, I’ve been out in the sun.”

Rey watched Phasma’s eyes travel to her ears. Rey shook her head and hoped her hair fell to cover them, in case her glamour wasn’t hiding the points. “Yes, of course. Anyway, Finn’s off in a few minutes. He’s doing dishes in the back, aren’t you Finn?” Phasma called as she looked into the back room.

“You waited until I had fifteen minutes left before telling me to do these before I left!” Finn shouted.

“See, perfect employee. Your mocha will be ready shortly.” Rey nodded and went to sit down. 

Finn brought her coffee in a to-go cup. “Did you not want to leave any dishes for others to do?” she asked as she took a sip.

“I thought we could go to the Midsummer Carnival,” Finn replied. “It’s going on all day and you can tell me where the hell you disappeared to for a day and why you look different.”

Rey sighed. “You won’t believe it when I tell you, but I have a feeling you won’t let me just say it’s complicated.”

“You’ve got that right. We’re going to be walking around, do you need anything?”

“Maybe some sunscreen?”

“Fine, we’ll stop at Walgreens before going to the Carnival. Make sure you have cash.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Rey left her car at the coffee shop and they hopped into Finn’s car. After a few quick errands, they parked in a dirt lot outside the Carnival.

“So you almost died,” Finn said as he turned off the car.

“I guess, but Kylo saved me.”

“I thought his name was Ben,” Finn said.

“He likes to go by Kylo, Ben is a name he uses when he has to.” Even the little half truths she had said all her life were getting harder to say, Rey thought, as she had to work around the truth to Finn.

“Fair enough. Ha, and we’re going to a fair!” Rey rolled her eyes. “What, it was good! Now, get out of the car, we have possibly dangerous carnival rides to go on and money to burn on games we might not be able to win.”

“We might actually be able to win them,” Rey said as she slammed her door closed.

“And how would we be able to do that?”

Rey bent and picked up a piece of trash paper next to the car. She pulled her magic and ran her hand over the paper. It became a five dollar bill. “Well first, we have possible unlimited money and second I have magic.”

“You have got to do that more often, and if I ever catch you doing that at my work I will end up, I don’t know, making you clean the floor with a toothbrush.”

Rey held up her hands and let the fake money fall. It turned back into a piece of worthless paper as soon as it hit the ground.

They bought a roll of tickets when they entered the grounds and immediately got in line for funnel cake. With sticky fingers, they walked around the carnival, taking notes on what they would do once they finished. The late afternoon sun made the shadows grow and gave the whole place a kind of magical feel.

They passed a group of girls who were running around with fake glittery wings and flower crowns. Rey thought their face paint was cute and debated asking Finn if he’d wait while she got one done.

“So do you have wings too?” Finn asked. Rey punched his arm.

“No, I don’t, all I have is pointed ears, and you damn well know that.”

“For all I know you grew them in the day you were gone!’

“Yes, I went and almost died and then grew wings. I’m sure that’s exactly how this whole thing works,” Rey said sarcastically. “Come on, let’s go on the rusty ferris wheel before it falls apart.”

When they were at the peak on the ride, Rey could have sworn she saw shadows moving. She thought it might be a trick of the light. After the ride, they tried their hand at some of the games. Rey helped Finn win a goldfish, while she took home a large stuffed bear. It was all black and kind of annoyed looking and she thought it might be a good present for Kylo.

They ended up sitting on one of the old benches munching corn dogs, while trying to figure out if they could stomach the topsy turvy ride after eating or if they should brave the roller coaster. “At least the spinning ride has a shorter line,” Finn said.

“Yes, but only because it had to be shut down for a little while when they had to clean the vomit off of it,” Rey countered before gnawing the last bit of meat off her stick. She got up to throw it away and stopped abruptly. She definitely saw a shadow move that time, it wasn’t just a trick of the fading light. She dropped the stick and turned to Finn. “Actually I’m kind of tired, maybe we should--”

Next to Finn was a beautiful girl with bright red hair. She was smiling at Rey, her teeth jagged points in her mouth. “Rey, this is Cynthia,” Finn said, a blank look in his eyes. “She wants to take us to her house.”

Rey gripped her necklace. “Finn, you should stand up and come with me.”

“Oh sweet child,” the woman whose name was definitely not Cynthia hissed. “You’ll love it.”

Rey pulled the necklace off and willed the sword into it’s full form. “I think not.”

The woman screeched and grabbed Finn’s arm before she literally took off. A part of Rey almost wanted to laugh because he’d found a faery with wings. Instead, she took off after him. All around her people were getting snatched to cries of “blood.” Rey hacked off as many limbs as she could in order to free as many people as she could, but there were too many. She ran for the parking lot, hoping all the metal would deter the rest.

“Under the hill in the cemetery,” she repeated to herself as she ran for Finn’s car. She tried to the door and found it locked. “Oh you piece of shit,” she muttered as she brushed her hand over the handle. The door opened with a faint click, and she climbed in and threw the sword into the backseat. The sky was filled with faeries and she wondered what mortals thought they were. She clawed at the wires under the dashboard to find the right ones to jump start the car. “Come on, come on. Yes!” she screamed as the engine roared to life. She threw the car into reverse and sped towards the road.

She looked behind her every so often to see if anyone was following her. She knew she was going in the right direction as more shapes passed over the car. A few times objects hit her roof and she didn’t bother to see what they were. After one check over her shoulder, she turned her gaze back to the road and swerved. In the middle of the road was a very injured man; it looked like he’d fallen out of one of the faery’s grasps.

She slammed on the brakes and jumped out of the car. He was groaning and Rey tried to see if there was any blood coloring the man’s greying hair. “Are you alright?” she asked.

The man rubbed his head and tried to push himself up. “I think I hurt my leg,” he admitted.

“I’ll call an ambulance-”

“No really, it's ok.”

“If you don’t have insurance I can drive you to the hospital, but I’m not leaving you here,” Rey said stubbornly.

“How about a compromise?” he said with a smile. Rey looked him over a few times and tried to gage if he really was mortal. “You take me to my buddy’s shop and I’ll make him take me to the doctor. I’m Lando by the way.”

“Rey, and your friend’s shop would be?”

“Han’s.”

Rey laughed hysterically. “Of course you’re Han’s friend. Let me help you up.” She offered her hand and together they managed to get him standing and leaning his weight on her. She helped him into the car and was relieved when he touched the metal with no hesitation.

“Are you sure you should be driving this car?” he asked.

Rey raised an eyebrow at him. “I have a license.”

“But no keys.”

“Oh, well, it’s my friend’s and he had to leave immediately and I needed the car,” she explained.

“This isn’t stolen, is it?”

“No, and I work for Han, so why would I drive a stolen car to him?” 

“Fair enough. I’m also positive he’s going to be impressed you can hotwire a car.”

“There’s a story there,” Rey said, “and I’d like to hear it at some point.”

She flicked her turn signal to pull into the garage. She parked the car and cut the engine. After helping the man out of the car, they made their way to the door of the shop. Rey tried to open it but it was locked. She banged on the door; the lights were still on inside and there was no indication that Han wasn’t there, especially since the Ford Falcon was still in the lot.

The door opened with an indignant “What?” from Han. He took in Rey and the man and quickly ushered them inside with an “It’s not safe.”

“Don’t I know it,” Rey agreed as she helped the man sit down on one of the chairs. “I’m pretty sure he fell from the sky.”

“I didn’t! I was with this woman and then…” he trailed off, “I guess I was in the middle of the road?”

“Lando, remember when I told you Leia was involved in some funny business?” Han asked.

“Yeah.”

“Well, you just got involved in it too. Rey, you know what’s going on, don’t you?”

“Unseelies are kingless and didn’t get a sacrifice to tide them over for the summer.”

“Well, that’s just great. Have to change the hours until this mess gets settled.”

“I’m going to the Unseelie Court,” Rey said.

“Now why would you do a stupid thing like that?” Han asked.

“And what does Unseelie mean?” Lando added.

“I’ll tell you later. Kid, you can’t go alone.”

“I’ve already been and I have an ally there, I think.”

“None of them are your allies no matter what they tell you.”

“I’d like to think your son is one.”

Han stood up straighter. “You’ve seen Ben.”

“Yes, and I’m going to make him help me get Finn out of there.”

Han sighed. “Good luck with that.” Rey nodded and turned to leave. “Hey kid,” Han called. She turned around and he held out some tiny screws from a bag on the desk. “These are metal, you might have use of them.”

She took them and put them in her pocket. She could feel the heat of the metal against her leg. “Thank you.”

“Good luck, and tell my son he should go see his mother and maybe come around here once and awhile.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am terrible at keeping an update schedule.


	11. Chapter 10

Rey always hated cemeteries. She’d never felt like they were of any use to her as a kid, since she never knew where her parents were buried. She never felt a connection to one nor ever had an interest in seeing all the graves. Which made prowling the cemetery in the dark slightly creepy for her. She could faintly hear music coming from somewhere, and the further she ventured into the place, the more often she could hear a faint scream. She heard a twig snap behind her and she ducked behind a stone.

She peered over it and watched a tiny mustard yellow creature drag a human by the leg. She quickly followed it, knowing it would lead her to the entrance. She ducked behind another stone as it passed through the doorway of a mausoleum. She looked down at her shorts and shirt and immediately knew she’d stand out like a sore thumb. She quickly glamored her shirt to into a tight black tank top with black gauze crossed over her chest and running down to her knees. She changed the color of her shorts to black as well before waving her hand over her hair and focusing it into three buns. Her sword was once again a necklace. Satisfied she walked to the tomb and, head held high, went inside.

She walked down a familiar dark corridor before entering the throne room. She had to bite her lip to keep from gasping. There was a line of humans snaking around the perimeter of the room, the center of which was wet and red with blood. On the throne sat the red-haired faery she’d seen Kylo fighting. To his right was Kylo himself, face completely blank. She watched as the redhead leaned over and whispered something to Kylo. He immediately nodded and began to move. She watched him walk towards the man who was kneeling in the middle of the room, shouting pleas to be let go. Rey looked away, but she still heard the sickening thump of the sword on flesh.

She began to move around the room, looking for Finn. She spotted him near the front of the line and knew she had to act quickly. She pushed her way through a group of hooded figures and stood by a table piled high with cherries and glasses overflowing with some kind of liquid. She had her hand around her necklace and was ready to will it into its full length before she felt something grab her ankle. She pitched forward and was dragged under the table. Before she could scream, a hand covered her mouth.

“Why are you here?” Kylo sneered into her ear.

“I have to save Finn,” she said once he took his hand away.

“You should leave and you shouldn’t trust anything I do.”

She turned to look at him. “Why?”

“Because Hux overheard when you yelled my true name and now commands me with it. He’s set himself up as King and has demanded as many sacrifices as people can bring him for his coronation present.”

“That’s disgusting,” Rey said.

“That’s the Unseelie Court for you. He’ll make a move for the Seelie Court next.”

“We have to stop him.”

“We?” Kylo asked.

“I’m going to need help.”

“I am useless now that he can control me. You’ll have to figure this out on your own.” Rey was about to protest when Kylo took her hand and moved it over her pocket that was filled with metal. “You came here armed with this, now figure out a way to use it.”

“He can swallow it,” Rey said.

“And just how would he do that?”

Rey thought. “I can serve it to him.”

“You’ll have to change your outfit, serving girls wear gowns.” Rey concentrated and the gaze shifted into a full skirt. “Better, just keep your head down. Don’t use my name.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Whatever Hux tells me to until his throat is burning. There’s a pitcher of dandelion wine on the table, Hux can’t resist it.” With that, Kylo crawled out from under the table, leaving Rey with her hand on her pocket. She pulled out the tiny pieces and clutched them in her palm, feeling them burn her flesh.

She crawled out as best she could and took a goblet from the table. The screws made a small sound as they hit the bottom of the goblet. Rey willed them to blend in with the silver of the cup. She filled the rest with the pale yellow liquid from the pitcher on the table. She walked by the line of humans waiting. When she passed Finn close to the front, she whispered “I’ll get us out of this” as quickly as possible before putting a smile on her face.

She bowed her head and presented the goblet to Hux, careful to stay out of his line of sight. “For you, your highness,” she said, guessing at the title.

Hux took the goblet and waved her away. Rey let out a sigh of relief as she slowly backed away, waiting for Hux to down the glass. He took a sip and set it down. Rey backed slowly into the gathered crowd, staying as close to the line of humans as possible. She watched Hux sip his wine, hoping the metal would go down quickly.

“You’re not from here, are you?” a tall faery with white blonde hair asked.

“You just haven’t seen me,” Rey replied.

Rey tried not to back away as he leaned in to sniff her neck. “You smell like sunshine.” He looked her in the eyes. “You’re from the Seelie Court.”

“I’m really not--” she tried to argue as he grabbed her hand and dragged her to the throne.

“Your highness, it seems we have a little spy,” the man said in a sickly sweet tone.

Hux looked her up and down. “Yes, I think the little faery who was supposed to die for us has come back for more.” Rey didn’t say anything as she glanced at Kylo. “I see you think he’s going to help you, is that why you came back? To save your knight?”

“No,” she said.

“Then answer truthfully: why you came back,” Hux commanded. She didn’t have to answer. “Fine, if you don't tell me I’ll order him cut himself for every minute you don’t answer.”

“I came to save my friend,” she blurted out.

“A mortal, a friend? Now that’s rich for a faery such as yourself. Which one is it?” Rey wanted to point to someone other than Finn. Really to anyone but her hand wouldn’t move unless it was pointed in the right direction. She mouthed ‘I’m sorry’ as she raised her hand and pointed. “So close to the front anyway. Kylo Ren, bring her to me!” Kylo appeared at her side and grabbed her upper arm to drag her to the throne. “I want you to hear this, since I have you to thank for this information.” He smirked and Rey shuddered. “Ben Solo,” Hux said softly, “I command you to kill this faery and her friend with your sword.”

Rey tripped over her skirt as Kylo dragged her to the makeshift gallow in the middle of the room. He pushed her down to the floor, Rey vaguely aware of the blood seeping into her clothes as she knelt. Finn was next to her in a second.

“I don’t want to die,” he said.

“Neither do I,” she replied truthfully.

“Then how do we stop this?”

“I don’t know.” Rey looked around and tried to think of something she could do. She could feel the weight of the sword around her neck but wasn’t sure how long she’d be able to hold off Kylo while Finn ran for cover nor if anyone would grab him on his way to safety. Kylo brought his sword high over his head, ready to strike. Rey couldn’t look at him, didn’t want to see the blow coming. Instead she focused on Hux who downed the wine she’d left for him.

She closed her eyes and waited for a blow to come. Instead she heard a choking sound. She opened her eyes to see Kylo frozen mid swing. She looked at Hux, who sat clawing at his throat with smoke coming out of his mouth. He stood, trying to look for something before collapsing on the ground. 

There was silence in the room. Kylo was the first to move, lowering his sword without striking a blow. He knelt next to Rey. “Run while you can,” he said urgently. “And make sure you’re armed.” She nodded and pulled her necklace off, sword coming to life in her hands. She grabbed Finn, who appeared to be in shock, as she stood. The silence lasted for another second before faeries started gathering their weapons. 

“Protect the mortals,” Rey shouted over her shoulder to Kylo.

“I’ll try,” he said as he stood.

She started forward, pushing her way through the crowd and not caring where she landed blows. Along the way, she grabbed a dagger out of a faery who fell in front of her and handed it to Finn. “Use this,” she told him as they made their way to the door in the chaos. Finn stumbled behind her, slashing when he could.

They burst through the door and almost collided with another group of faeries. “Leia,” Rey said as she tried to catch her breath.

“I seem to have missed all the fun,” Leia said as she peered over Rey into the throne room.

“I am your king now and you will bow to me!” Rey turned at Kylo’s declaration to see him standing on the throne, the crown that had been on Hux’s head in his left hand while his right held a bloodied sword.

“Just in time to see my son become king.” Rey looked at Leia, unsure how to react to the smiling woman. “I think I shall congratulate him and tell him the Seelie Court supports his bid for the throne. Would you like to join me, dear?” Rey shook her head and stood still while Leia and her entourage glided passed her.

“We’re leaving now, right?” Finn asked as soon as they were gone.

“Like a bat out of hell,” Rey said.

“We’re not bats, but I’m pretty sure that was hell.” 

Rey didn’t comment, instead she took off running. She didn’t stop until she felt the cool summer night’s air on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All that's left is the epilogue. I have two more fics in the work, one fully outlined that will be about five chapters and one that has about 2k written with no outline and idk how long. Just so you know.
> 
>  
> 
> [I have a tumblr if you want to follow.](http://lariren-shadow.tumblr.com/)


	12. Epilogue

Three days later, it almost felt like everything was normal again. Finn brought her and Han coffee that morning, the news reports of people who had mysteriously returned after hours of no memories had died down, and she’d finally been able to create a strong enough glamour for her hands to be able to work on cars again. She wiped the grease from her hands as she looked out into the parking lot, bright in the midday sun.

 

Standing next to the Falcon was a man dressed all in black, arms crossed against his chest and looking utterly out of place in the summer heat. Rey took off her coverall and hung it up as she left the garage.

 

“You’re just going to show up without calling or sending any kind of message?” she asked Kylo as she stood in front of him.

 

“It’s a little hard to find time to send a message, when you’re trying to convince a murderous horde to follow you.”

 

“Should I call you your highness?” she teased.

 

“For you, Kylo is fine.”

 

She bit her lip to try to stop from grinning. “I ran into Leia as I was leaving the Unseelie Court.”

 

Kylo nodded. “Yes, surprisingly she’s backing me being king. Which suits me just fine.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“I never fit in the Seelie Court anyway,” Kylo said with a cocked grin.

 

“Rey, who are you talking to?” Han called as he came out of the garage to see. “Ben,” he said softly.

 

“Father,” Kylo said with a curt nod. “You look well.”

 

“Kid,” Han said softly, “you’ve grown.”

 

“That happens when people get older.”

 

“No need for sass.”

 

“Noted,” Kylo said. The two men looked at each other. “I will be visiting more,” Kylo finally added.

 

“Really?”

 

Kylo looked at Rey and his gaze softened. “Well, hopefully I’ll be visiting more.”

 

“I see. You should also see your mother,” Han said.

 

“Considering she’s a fellow monarch now, I will have to see her at least once a year to confirm that neither of our people have, to put it nicely, tried to eliminate the other.”

 

“I don’t know whether to congratulate you or be angry with you.”

 

“Take some time to figure it out,” Kylo said. “I can wait.”

 

“Just don’t do anything stupid,” Han said, “you were always too bright for that.”

 

“I’ll do my best.” Han enveloped Kylo in a one armed hug that Kylo returned. “Take care,” Kylo said.

 

“You too.”

 

Rey watched Han walk back to the shop. “I’m giving you two thirty minutes,” he called before going into the office.

 

Rey turned back to Kylo. “Will he really leave us alone?”

 

“Not sure,” Kylo admitted. “I never brought a girl home before.”

 

“Technically, I brought you home first.”

 

Kylo smiled. “You did. And you know all my secrets now and I know nothing about you.”

 

Rey shrugged. “I’m beginning to think I know nothing about me either. I mean, I like working on cars, my best friend is named Finn, I just moved here to live with a grandfather I never met, and,” she looked into his eyes. “For some strange reason, I trust you.”

 

“Never trust the King of the Unseelies,” he said as he leaned in closer.

 

“Too late.” She closed the distance and kissed him softly, not caring about the consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again I have a [tumblr](lariren-shadow.tumblr.com) if you want to follow (there's also a lot of Avatar and Korra reblogs).
> 
> I'm helping run the Ring in the New Year with Reylo exchange! [Sign up here!](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/RingInTheReylo/profile)
> 
> Upcoming projects in case you want to know:
> 
> Vampire AU: Rey finds the perfect cheap apartment. Only problem is her roommate might be a vampire. The lure of good rent and her own bathroom wins over the possibility of her undead roommate Kylo Ren eating her.
> 
> Complete Smut: Sentator Ben Organa-Solo is looking for a new Dom. After a few no goes he has a session with Kira, complete with masks. He's found his new Dom until he realizes his new Jedi guard Rey just happens to be Kira. All the smut.


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